Professor Calls For Troops On Ground In Chicago To Fight Gangs

A professor teaching in Chicago wants President Donald Trump to send in the military to deal with gang violence.

The federal government bans the use of the armed forces in a law called the Posse Comitatus Act. The act does allow the president to temporarily suspend the law and allow the military to work with law enforcement. That’s exactly what Jason Hill, professor of philosophy at DePaul University, said Trump needs to do in order to stop the gang violence in Chicago.

“They are waging terrorism on these cities,” Hill said. “Carry through on that campaign promise. Send in the troops and clean this city up.”

Hill said each of the last three presidents has suspended the act. While he’s technically correct, they did it largely to send in special operatives like Delta Force to act as a SWAT team of sorts. The 51-day siege of the Branch Davidian Compound East of Waco, for instance, employed Delta Force members but only as observers. Troops have also been sent to the Mexico border to stop drug trafficking.

Hill said his students have shared eye-opening stories of gang intimidation.

“One student who said he had to drop out because he had to cross gang turf to get to school,” he said. “He was told he had two choices: Either be killed or join a gang.”

Hill has been criticized for his opinion on the matter and accused of endorsing a police state.

“Sending federal troops would encourage naked demonstrations of force that could traumatize communities and further increase distrust of law enforcement for years to come,” said Ed Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy with the ACLU of Illinois.

In Chicago, 36 people were shot, seven fatally, over the Memorial Day weekend. But the city has seen 15th consecutive months of declines in shootings.